ROME (Reuters) – Antonio Tajani, the Italian Foreign Minister, was unanimously elected as the leader of Forza Italia, the conservative party established 29 years ago by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, who passed away last month.
Tajani, 69, faces the challenging task of revitalizing a party that had been losing public support for years, even prior to Berlusconi’s death.
Having spent most of his career abroad as a European Commissioner in Brussels and as president of the European Parliament, Tajani lacks the charisma of his predecessor and is not among Italy’s most popular politicians.
Addressing Forza Italia’s national, European, and local representatives in Rome, Tajani acknowledged the difficulty of inheriting the legacy of Silvio Berlusconi, saying, “I am receiving an almost impossible inheritance.” He stood on stage, facing a massive image of Berlusconi.
Forza Italia holds a subordinate position in Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, trailing behind the premier’s Brothers of Italy party and Matteo Salvini’s League.
Tajani, who has been serving as the foreign minister since October of last year, expressed his commitment to maintaining the party’s distinct identity, stating, “We want to be the center of the center-right.”
Recent polls indicate Forza Italia’s support to be around 7%, with the League at approximately 10% and Brothers of Italy nearing 30%.
Tajani’s political career began in the 1980s with a small monarchist movement before joining Forza Italia in 1994, where he became Berlusconi’s spokesman in the party’s inaugural government that same year.
(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by David Holmes)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
